Barely a month goes by these days without rumor of a new acquisition target for Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU), which suddenly seems anxious to buy up major assets in its bid to diversify beyond its core search business. The latest rumors say Baidu is close to a deal to purchase Nuomi, the group buying unit of social networking leader Renren (NYSE: RENN). As one of China’s most profitable Internet companies, Baidu is hoping to take advantage of low valuations of Chinese Internet firms, many of which are running low on cash and have had trouble attracting interest from foreign investors. Baidu, by comparison, has plenty of resources to make such purchases, including $2.5 billion in cash from 2 recent major bond sales. Read Full Post…
Tag Archives: Sogou
People’s Daily, Xinhua Merge Search Sites
When is the merger of search sites operated by 2 major media and a top telco not a very big news story? The answer: When all 3 of those companies are big state-run behemoths that have a poor track record for innovation in the fast-moving Internet world. That’s my personal assessment on reading news that Panguso and Jike, the respective online search sites of the Xinhua news agency and People’s Daily newspaper, have merged their operations to form a new company. (English article) In addition to its Xinhua backing, Panguso counts dominant mobile carrier China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL) as its other major stakeholder. Read Full Post…
Investors Tire Of Sohu, Shanda Game Talk
Investors are taking a decidedly negative view on the latest news from web portal Sohu (Nasdaq: SOHU) and game operator Shanda Games (Nasdaq: GAME), in a wave of buyer fatigue following recent rallies for these 2 Internet companies. Shares of both companies lost 10 percent or more in the latest trading day in New York, after Sohu released a very solid set of financial results and Shanda announced an acquisition that should help to boost its struggling core game business. In all fairness, both companies’ shares have rallied sharply this year for different reasons, so some might view this sell-off as a classic case of the “buy on the rumor, sell on the news” mentality. As such, the setback may be a one-time correction, and different factors will determine whether the companies resume their rallies in the weeks ahead.
Sohu, Qihoo Near Search Marriage
Two months after reports first emerged that web portal Sohu (Nasdaq: SOHU) was looking to sell its Sogou search engine, it appears a sale may finally be imminent to security software maker Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU). If indeed the latest reports are true, the big winner from such a sale would be Qihoo, which would combine its own so.com search service with Sogou to create a major new player with a quarter of China’s search market. China tech watchers like myself will also be happy to see this story finally disappear from the headlines, following a non-stop string of mixed signals since early May from Sohu’s fickle and frustrated founder and Chairman Charles Zhang. Read Full Post…
News Digest: July 13-15
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on July 13-15. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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- Glaxo (London: GSK) Executives Admit to Bribery, Tax Crimes, China Says (English article)
- Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU) In Final Talks To acquires Sogou For $1.4 Bln (English article)
- Spreadtrum (Nasdaq: SPRD) Agrees To Be Acquired by Tsinghua Unigroup (PRNewswire)
- China’s Box Office Surges In First Half (English article)
- Shanda Cloudary Cancels US Listing Plan (Chinese article)
News Digest: July 5, 2013
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on July 5. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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- China Probes Pricing At Drugmakers Including GSK, Merck (English article)
- China Merchants Bank (HKEx: 3968) Sets Up Online Branch On WeChat (Chinese article)
- HKEx Approves AgBank (HKEx: 1288) To Issue $5 Bln In Medium-Term Notes (HKEx announcement)
- Qihoo (NYSE: QIHU), Sogou Increase Search Traffic Share in June (English article)
- Beijing Praises Baby Formula Brands for Price Reduction (English article)
News Digest: June 8-10
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on June 8-10. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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- UK Lawmakers Say Huawei-BT (London: BT) Deal Exposes Flawed Security Controls (English article)
- Youku Tudou (NYSE: YOKU), Sina (Nasdaq: YOKU) Collaborate On Content Promotion (PRNewswire)
- Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) Kindle Reader Makes Formal China Launch (Chinese article)
- Sohu’s (Nasdaq: SOHU) Sogou Denies Reports Of Acquisition By Alibaba (Chinese article)
- US Food Workers Union Comments On China Poultry Plant Disaster (Businesswire)
Sohu Seeking Success With Baidu?
There’s lots to say about word that Internet portal operator Sohu (Nasdaq: SOHU) is selling its Sogou search unit to industry leader Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU), starting with the strong possibility that this latest in a sudden string of rumors about Sogou may be true. Sogou’s chief executive has already said publicly the unit was for sale, naming Baidu as one of the leading bidders. The only slight contradiction in the mix comes from comments by Charles Zhang in an interview late last week, which I’ll return to shortly. Read Full Post…
News Digest: May 18-20, 2013
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on May 18-20. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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- Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) Acquires Sohu’s (Nasdaq: SOHU) Sogou – Source (English article)
- Qihoo 360 (NYSE: QIHU) Reports Q1 Results (PRNewswire)
- BYD (HKEx: 1211) Supplies Hong Kong With First Electric Taxis (Businesswire)
- European Union To Fine Indian, Chinese Airlines Over Emissions (English article)
- Sinopec Engineering, Galaxy Securities Raised over $1Bln Each in IPO (English article)
Sohu: On The Breakup Path?
A sudden flurry of activity has caught my attention at Sohu (Nasdaq: SOHU), one of China’s oldest Internet portals, which has splashed into the headlines several times in the last couple of months after years of being ignored by investors. What has most caught my attention most this time around was a comment in one of the recent reports that Sohu founder and Chairman Charles Zhang was recently experiencing some kind of emotional fatigue, which leads me to wonder if the company may be headed for a breakup. Read Full Post…
Alibaba Mobile Drive Leads To AutoNavi
Less than 2 weeks after buying a major stake in leading Chinese microblogging site Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) Weibo, e-commerce leader Alibaba is back on the acquisition track with word that it’s on the cusp of another deal to buy a similar strategic stake in mapping services firm AutoNavi (Nasdaq: AMAP). While this newest deal would be a bit smaller than the Weibo tie-up, it marks the latest transaction in a nascent M&A wave among China tech firms that looks set to gain momentum during the rest of the year. Read Full Post…
